Seven years after a BMC employee died after an ayurvedic doctor administered allopathic medicine to him, the Maharashtra state consumer disputes redressal commission ordered the doctor to pay Rs 7 lakh to his wife. The widow, Pratibha Gamre, who was left with two children, now works as a house maid in Kandivli (East).

Relying on a report submitted by another doctor, the commission observed: “It also emerges and is a wellestablished fact that the opponent (Dr R R Singh) is a practitioner in the stream of medicine in ayurveda and he was not allowed to practise the allopathic stream prescribing allopathy drugs.” Singh, who ran Varadan Clinic at Kandivli, was earlier convicted by a sessions court and asked to pay Gamre a compensation of Rs 25,000 in 2006.

At the time of his death in 2004, Pandurang was employed as a deputy superintendent with the BMC and his monthly gross salary was Rs 9,750. “We find that it would be just and proper to grant a compensation of Rs 7 lakh to the complainant who is the wife of the late Pandurang and had the responsibility of bringing up two minor children,” the commission said. Gamre will also receive Rs 5,000 towards costs of the complaint.

According to Gamre, her husband Pandurang had severe pain in his lower body on August 20, 2004. She took him to Singh’s clinic at Kandivli (East), where Singh told her that Pandurang had a serious illness and could even suffer a paralytic stroke. Gamre paid the doctor Rs 2,700 as advance, following which Pandurang was admitted to the clinic. Gamre told the doctor that since her husband was a BMC employee, he could avail of free treatment at the BMC hospital and she wanted him discharged. However, Singh convinced her against moving him.

Gamre alleged that at night, Singh left Gamre in the care of his compounder. The doctor gave the compounder instructions in case of an emergency. Around 3 am, when Pandurang’s condition deteriorated, the compounder gave him saline and medicines prescribed by Singh. He died soon after.

Gamre filed a police complaint against Singh. On February 28, 2006, the Sewri sessions court convicted Singh under the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners’ Act

1961 (M P Act), following which

a consumer complaint was

filed in the forum on June 18, 2007. On March 9, 2011, the additional Mumbai suburban district consumer disputes redressal forum passed an order rejecting the complaint. The forum reasoned that since the sessions court had granted Rs 25,000 as compensation, one offence could not attract compensation two times. Aggrieved, Gamre filed an appeal in the state commission.

In his defence, Singh contended that though Pandurang had been to this clinic, he neither treated him nor accepted any fees. He said Pandurang died due to a heart attack. The commission admitted an affidavit filed by a doctor on behalf of Gamre. The doctor stated that Pandurang should have been admitted to a hospital or a nursing home with an ICCU facility, which could have saved his life. The commission observed that the evidence on record established that Singh had prescribed such allopathic drugs and, therefore, per se, medical negligence on his part while treating Pandurang was well-established.

State Consumer Commission Relief For Widow Of BMC Employee

Treatment & Debate

Ayurveda believes the basis of human body lies in dosha (humors that control functioning of the body), dhatu (seven types of body tissues) and mala (excretory products) Disturbance in the equilibrium of the dosha is believed to be responsible for diseases in the human body

The concept of integrated medicine—use of both ayurveda and allopathy—often termed as mind-body or holistic medicine, has come a long way both here and abroad In chronic ailments where modern medicine or allopathy surrenders, ayurveda or alternative medicine are said to give patients hope

Prolonged intake of strong allopathic medicine could have a toxic effect; invasive therapy could lead to iatrogenic diseases or those caused by drug side-effects. Alternative medicine has begun to gain acceptability in such circumstances

OPPONENTS SAY

There is little scientific research to show the success ratio of integrated approaches Limited resources or funding in integrated treatment makes it challenging to document its actual healing power Times View

No government agency has really got down to addressing the issue of practitioners of alternate systems of medicine prescribing allopathic drugs. The consequences can be disastrous in the long run and the administration should treat this as a serious health problem. But a mere government crackdown on this menace will not solve the problem. The poor often turn to alternate systems because of the apathy and insensitivity they encounter at government-run hospitals. Doctors should also pause to think whether the allopathic system has become prohibitively expensive for a large section of society—especially when the issue is a niggling health problem like chronic pain or a bout of cold and cough—and is actually driving people to alternate systems